Chapter 18-Intellectual Properties
"You've had many bad ideas in the past, Pisces, but this may be your most foolish one yet."
'For once, Scorpio, I may be inclined to agree with you.' Pisces thought, though he did not say it out loud.
The two generals were waiting for their new business partner to arrive and begin their meeting. They only had a small squad of soldiers equipped with state of the art armor and weapons…made of plastic. On a normal day, even these weapons would be more than enough to handle any human threat—but they weren't meeting ordinary humans.
"Tell me, Pisces," Scorpio said. "Do we know how many members he's bringing?"
"No."
"Do we know who he's bringing?"
"No."
"Do we even—"
Scorpio, I'm not in the mood for your childish ranting so please shut your mouth and go brood in a corner." Pisces said curtly.
Scorpio growled and marched towards his fellow Zodiac. "Listen, you little—"
A small hand planted itself on his chest and stopped Scorpio in his tracks. He looked down into the masked face of Pisces's little killer, the inhuman Pandora. Hardly intimidated by the powerful girl, Scorpio glared down at her.
"Pisces, you better call off your little guard dog before I give Doctor Bergen a reason to hunt you down." Scorpio warned.
"Pandora, stand down. He's not going to do anything."
The girl took a step back, but still kept her eyes on Scorpio. Pisces stood up and walked over to his brother.
"I understand your anger, Scorpio, but this is a direct order from Sagittarius. Espers are an area of OZ we have little to no hold over, thanks to their psychics. Until now that would've been fine, but with our war with the Cybertronians going as badly as it is—"
"What about the Thrones? Are they not our trump card?" Scorpio asked.
"Leo is still training them. They'll be given back to us when they're good and ready. His words, not mine." Pisces said and sighed. "Our position in Osea is tenuous, especially with the government actively hunting us now. We need trump cards of our own to bloody their noses. Trump cards that aren't based off dismembered Minicon corpses."
"I know, but of all people it had to be Karaba."
The air suddenly shifted and everyone became alert. Pisces and Scorpio saw a pink flash of light before a portal opened up in front of them. Three people exited the portal: the first was the Karaba field commander, Fauntleroy, and the second was Magda Lehnsherr, Karaba's second in command. The last person to appear was the leader of Karaba himself, Dreyas, the Master of Magnetism.
'So he's brought his son in law and wife along as backup. He's not playing around.' Pisces thought. This man focused on quality, not quantity. These three espers were more than enough to handle an entire squad of men.
Dreyas was a taller, handsome man with dark skin and long black, curly hair. His indigo eyes were as hard as stone, and he wore a white bodysuit made of Kevlar and some other elastic material Pisces couldn't identify that outlined his muscular physique. Sharing a discreet glance with Scorpio, Pisces stepped forward and greeted their guests.
"Greetings, High Leader Dreyas. It has been a while—"
"Hold your tongue, Pisces." Dreyas said coldly. "You have balls coming to speak with me after your crimes."
"My crimes? Dreyas, I don't—"
"Your people fund our enemies," Magda said. "Your companies make weapons to restrain and kill espers, all while fanning the flames to better make a profit. Don't think that we aren't watching you."
"You've been making our jobs harder than it needs to be, goo sir." Fauntleroy smirked.
'Shit, these people are well-informed.' Scorpio thought.
"I won't deny my involvement in Osea's growing conflict with espers, but rest assured it was only in the name of business, not personal views. I have a high opinion of you and our cause, Dreyas." Pisces held up his hands to show that he meant no harm. "I simply came here to talk."
Dreyas glared at him for a good minute before nodding to the Zodiac. "Speak."
"Dreyas, I prose an alliance before OZ and Karaba. As you already know, Oseas's relationship with the Autobots grows every day, and their alliance is causing us some serious trouble." Pisces explained. "Osea has now become aware of OZ's existence and is collaborating with the Autobots to take us out."
"I fail to see how this concerns Karaba." Dreyas said.
"The Autobots share limited amounts of technological information with the Osean government, as per their agreement." Scorpio said. "No weapons are to be traded, but there are already less savory elements of the government and military are already seeking to weasel out cybertronian technology under their radar. That includes anti-esper factions within the military."
"And so we're offering you a place at the table." Pisces said. "A chance to trade our resources to better combat our enemies."
"What could you offer us that we could not simply take?" Magda asked, crossing her arms. "We have spies in the Osean government, even within the Human Front. We've done well against the ERD—"
"But with our resources you can make the lives of those under your command much easier. Weapons, defenses, even ways to combat their talos. Your powers can only get you so far, you know."
Dreyas thought about it and Pisces mentally grinned. He knew he already had the terrorist leader hook the moment he said weapons.
"How about I show you a demonstration? OZ's near limitless resources are thanks to part to our access to a little piece of cybertronian technology."
"You'll love it." Scorpio grinned. "We call it the Cube."
Dreyas looked between the two men for a moment before he nodded. "Tell me more."
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"The city of London has sustained heavy damage in the wake of what the Autobots are calling an Insecticon attack. The death toll has reached into the thousands, mainly from the opening attack before the military was mobilized. Though the insectoid aliens were repelled by the joint efforts of the royal military and the Autobots, the collateral damage caused by the battle is still great, and hundreds have been left homeless from the particularly fierce battle between Autobot Arcee and an ex-Decepticon rogue. We have been unable to get a proper interview with either the Autobots or royal army officials, but it's clear that these "Insecticons" are cybertronian in nature."
Optimus turned the solivision off and crossed his arms. "What a mess."
Prowl walked into the room carrying a datapad. Seeing Prime's weariness, he asked, "You still watching the news?"
"Yes, and it hasn't gotten any easier to watch." Optimus said.
"As unexpected the attack had been, Prime, it could have been much worse if we hadn't intervened in time." Prowl said. Hardly comforting words, but at least Prowl was trying. "It's no use in lamenting on alternatives. What has happened, happened."
Over a week had passed since that chaotic battle in London, Aurelia, and the city was still rebuilding from the mass destruction caused from the assault. The death count had finally slowed down, but it was still too high, and the collateral damage was enough to worry even Prowl. Despite the destruction, the Britannian Royal Family and government had formally thanked the Autobots for their humanitarian efforts during and after the battle.
Optimus and any capable Autobots returned to the city to aid in rescue and recovery. They had found more than their fair share of bodies under the rubble and debris (and yes, they did find Flamewar's little church of horrors. The less said about that, the better) and Ratchet and Lifeline provided medical aid for the injured.
In the meantime, Arcee and Moonracer were given some time off to recover from their physical and mental wounds. Arcee was going to need a lot of time to recover from her harrowing battle and still walked about in a daze, as if she were still dreaming. The emotional shock she suffered was going to take a while to bounce back from.
"Anything new on Barnett's end?" Prowl asked.
"Colonel Barnett is at Washington trying to appease the Senate. This surprise attack has many unsettled, especially considering that Flamewar could have easily set that swarm on a city like New York or Chicago."
"I don't envy the man." Prowl said, knowing how much of a headache it was dealing with politicians.
"And that also means I will be meeting with the president and his joint chiefs to explain the situation." Optimus sighed. "Arcee and Flamewar's battle caused almost as much damage as the Insecticons and I have to run damage control. I'm leaving you in command until I return, Prowl."
"Understood, sir." Prowl nodded. "Into the fire we go."
Optimus smiled. "Onward and downward."
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Dreyas was a man with a mission: to make the world a safe place for espers and show the savage humans their place in the evolutionary line.
He had spent thirty years uniting the oppressed espers of the world into a coherent fighting force. He had ran into some expected and unexpected roadblocks, but so far things were going good for him. All in all, he didn't get this far by being stupid or reckless.
Which was why he was hesitant about fully trusting these people…OZ. Not only were they deeply entrenched in the business of making and selling anti-esper technology to capture and kill espers, they were also the type of people to demand absolute subservience from their partners…or death. Dreyas knew that any alliance between Karaba and OZ wouldn't last long as OZ's hold over the planet grew.
Still, he was hard pressed to deny that they didn't have resources to both surpass and combat the conventional armies of the world's strongest nations. OZ was even able to combat the cybertronians, something that he desperately needed to reinforce Karaba. So as it was, it would be at least polite to listen to Pisces' offer…for now.
The Zodiac general was leading Dreyas and his two subordinates towards a mobile base set up inside an old Air Force base in the southwestern part of the country. Dreyas had to admire their adaptability.
'Sir, are you sure we should trust these people?' Fauntleroy asked via the telepathic link created by one of their agents for instant communication.
'OZ is not an organization that should be taken lightly unless you have the means to fight them. I will not blindly fight them without good reason.' Dreyas told his son-in-law. 'Let's see what they have to offer before passing judgment. Just be on your guard.'
Fauntleroy nodded. 'Yes sir.'
The car stopped right in front of the hangar doors and they left the vehicle. Pisces straightened his suit and turned to his guests.
"You see, gentlemen-and ladies-I know that for all your powers, you are still just a step behind the world in terms of resources and weaponry. You alone cannot defeat the entire Osean military, Dreyas. You'll need guns to do that." Pisces said.
"Guns you can provide." Dreyas stated. Pisces nodded.
"Exactly. What I'm about to show you is the crown jewel of our research into alien technology. Pilfered from the Autobots themselves. It's called, in basic terms, the Cube."
The hangar doors slid open and Dreyas, Magda and Fauntleroy were given a glimpse into the heart of OZ's darkness. Even the usually composed Fauntleroy couldn't hide his surprise.
"My god." He breathed.
The hangar was retrofitted into a command and research center bustling with activity. Dreyas had little interest in the scientists scurrying around like ants in a colony. His eyes were focused on the massive silver/grey cub in the middle of the hangar, connected to various cables hooked up to computers.
"This cube is made of the same bio-metal that composes their bodies. It essentially contains their genetic information." Pisces pointed to the nine foot tall humanoid androids lined up along the wall. "We translate the cube's energy pulses into information and use it as blueprints for our projects. Those robots are the result of our research into the cube's genetic material."
"Androids?" Magda inquired.
"Battle Assault Troopers, the first combat android in modern history, and they all belong to OZ." Pisces looked back at Dreyas. "But you can share in the rewards too."
Dreyas, though interested, was still cautious. "How about we discuss the terms of this potential…alliance? I know how OZ works. Any partner of your organization is always subservient to you. Karaba is anything but."
"I understand. We can talk inside." Pisces said, inwardly seething at Dreyas's arrogance.
'But that's okay.' He thought. 'It doesn't matter what he thinks. All people on Terra are subservient to OZ. they just don't know it yet.'
XXXXXX
For the first time of her life, Gina was bored. Actually, it wasn't that she was bored, it was just that she wasn't entirely focused on her work. With Darren and Annie recovering with Debbie from Flamewar's attack, Penny off on a family vacation and Kevin busy practicing for an upcoming basketball match, Gina was pretty much on her own with Sara and Sureshock as her companions. That seemed to be happening a lot to her lately.
"Gina?" Ratchet walked into the room, looking down at her. "What are you doing here?"
"Having Teletran-1 go over the stuff I found in Civ-Alpha. It's a bit of a slow process, though." Gina sighed.
Ratchet looked her over. "You look tired."
"I'm restless. Kinda the result of having been in the center of the action for so long." She said and looked down at her computer. "And I've been having a bad feeling."
"About what?"
"I don't know. Just a bad feeling. The same kind of feeling that led to me running into Pisces little inhuman pet."
"If you're feeling this uncomfortable, then I better prepare myself." Ratchet said as he stood back up.
"You believe me?"
"Gina, I know better than to disregard your "Gina Sense" after knowing you for so long."
Gina laughed at him, but an alert from Teletran-1 cut their talk short. "Alert: Incoming call from Colonel Barnett."
Gina and Ratchet shared a look. Looks like it was back to work.
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"What?" Optimus exclaimed.
Ratchet and Gina entered the room just as Barnett informed Optimus of a shocking new development.
"It's confirmed, Prime. Our sats just detected an OZ facility down in Ozark, smack dab in a former Osean Air Force base of all places." Barnett said.
"How did you find them?" Prowl asked.
"By pure chance. We were actually investigating a sudden energy spike our energon detectors just located and took a couple of pictures. You'll never guess who we found."
Barnett showed them two pictures of a contingent of soldiers assembled around an aircraft hangar, where a car was parked outside. Four people were standing outside the building, and one of them was easily recognizable.
"Pisces." Gina growled hatefully.
"Whose that with him?" Prowl pointed to the person standing next to Pisces. "The man in white."
"Another person of interest on our country's most wanted list." Barnett said grimly.
Dreyas Lehnsherr, leader of Karaba."
"Karaba once again." Optimus grunted. "It would seem that OZ may be working on forging an alliance with Karaba."
"But Karaba wasn't nothing to do with humans." Gina said. "You don't think that Pisces would risk it, do you?"
"Karaba wouldn't even consider allying themselves with OZ…unless OZ has an enticing offer."
"Like offering to share their resources and advanced weaponry." Prowl said.
"And if that happens, Karaba may actually have the means to wage war on humanity." Gina said.
"How recent is this photo, colonel?" Optimus asked.
"It was taken just an hour ago. I scrambled to contact you as soon as we got visual confirmation. I can send you the base's location right away."
"Please do. This may be our only chance to capture a Zodiac." Optimus turned to Prowl. "Prowl, assemble a strike team. We're going in fast and hard to minimize any chances of a counterattack."
"Yes, Prime." Prowl said and immediately got to work.
"Prime, you need to be very careful on this mission. Dreyas is a very powerful esper. He can control magnetic fields along the electromagnetic spectrum and that includes being able to control metals." Barnett warned them. "I'm not sure how much your bodies will be affected by his powers, but watch yourself or he'll turn you into a trashcan."
"Understood." Optimus nodded and headed for the door.
Gina quietly let Optimus and Prowl walk past them without a word and made to follow them before someone spoke up behind her.
"Gina?"
"Jinkies!" Gina jumped, startled from Sara's sudden appearance. "Geez, Sara, don't do that!"
"You aren't going to ask them to come along on the mission?" Sara asked curiously. Gina sighed and shook her head.
"It won't do any good. Optimus will never let me go on a mission against OZ after that mess with the headmasters. No, this might require us to…bend a few rules." Gina adjusted her glasses, a dark look coming over her eyes. "As long as Pisces dies, I'm willing to take that risk."
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Optimus, Prowl, Ironhide, Bulkhead, Sideswipe and Jazz exited the ground bridge on the outskirts of the Air Force base. They stealthily made their way into the base, cautiously inching closer to where they believed the foreign energy source was coming from.
"Prowl, are you getting anything on your scanners?" Optimus asked over their internal comm.
"I'm not getting a single reading, prime. I'm not doubting our intel, but I think the energy source might be shielded." Prowl said.
"Perfect." Ironhide groaned.
"Everyone spread out and converge on Hangar E. Keep your eyes open, there may be traps." Optimus said.
"If that's the case, then we should've sprang them by now." Bulkhead said, glancing into an empty hangar.
The Autobots slowly closed in on the hangar, still not encountering any resistance…until they finally spotted one man standing in the middle of the walkway. He was a tall, muscular man wearing a form-fitting white bodysuit. His tan skin and long black hair framing his angular face. He looked attractive by human standards, but his eyes carried a predatory look more suited on a Decepticon than a human.
"The Autobots," He drawled with a smirk. "It's an honor to finally meet you face to face. And you must be Optimus Prime, yes?"
"That I am." Optimus confirmed, his body tensing up for a fight. "And you must be Dreyas Lehnsherr, leader of Karaba."
"Oh scrap." Bulkhead muttered.
"You are correct." Dreyas replied. "I assume you are here because of Pisces' blunder from earlier, right?"
"Maybe." Ironhide said, slowly leveling his cannons on the esper. "Look, we don't want any problems—"
"Oh, but you do have a problem with me. You see, you Autobots have already interfered with Karaba's affairs for far too long without suffering the consequences. That stops tonight. You may be Osea's alien attack dogs, but you underestimate Karaba at your peril." Dreyas growled.
"Where is Pisces and the rest of OZ?" Prowl demanded. "Did they already leave?"
"Maybe. If they hadn't run already, then they're bigger fools than I made them out to be." Dreyas smiled dangerously. "But enough talk. Let's get to trying to kill each other, shall we?"
Suddenly Prowl felt an invisible force clamp around his gun arm and his limb was wrenched to the side, pointing at Ironhide.
"Ironhide!" Prowl yelled.
A snap of Dreyas' fingers had Prowl unwillingly pulling the trigger and shooting Ironhide in the face. The red Autobot stumbled back from the blast and Prowl's arm was released from Dreyas' grasp.
"That was fun." Dreyas remarked.
"You bastard!" Bulkhead shouted and pointed his blaster at Dreyas.
Dreyas extended his magnetic field over to the large metal doors of the hangar behind him and tore them away, flinging them at Bulkhead. He shot one down and smacked the other door away, but Jazz yanked him aside to save him from a dangerous headshot from an out of control Prowl.
"Sorry, Bulk, but it just got a little more hazardous here." Jazz pointed to the other hangars.
Two dozen Codarl talos sporting dark green armor and equipped with energon powered laser blasters flooded out into the yard and opened fire on the Autobots. Dreyas just grinned and watched the show.
"Let's see what you're really made of Autobots…before I tear you all apart!" He roared.
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Unseen by the Autobots and OZ forces, another ground bridge appeared behind the hangar and three girls jumped out of the portal. Clad in her exosuit, Gina, along with Sara and Sureshock, covertly made their way behind the hangars as the battle raged on the other side. For once, Gina had no plans to interfere with the Autobots this time. She only had one job and one job only—kill Pisces.
"I think the main command center is located in the hangar near the center of the base. I doubt Pisces had the time to completely evacuate himself." Gina said.
Sureshock looked at her scanner. "Gina, I'm detecting energy pulsations from the hangar."
"That explains it." She said. "Come over to the side. We can sneak in through here."
Gina, Sara and Sureshock ran over to the side of the hangar, where there was a small window to the side. Using her distortion field, Gina transmuted a stone pillar under them to raise them up to the window. Sara broke it open and they jumped inside one after another. They landed on the floor, and after they made sure the coast was clear, Gina hopped onto the upper level and ran over to the railing. What she saw near the back of the hangar caught her by surprise.
"J-Jinkies!"
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The Autobots were pushed back slightly by the barrage of laser fire from the Codarls, but they fought back. Optimus led the charge, jumping straight into the enemy squad and started shooting them down with his ion rifle. Ironhide fired close behind him, blasting one unit's head off before taking out his war axe and slicing another talos in two.
Prowl and Jazz also shot at the enemy talos, but they quickly realized that these new models were faster than their predecessors.
"These upgraded models are no joke." Prowl said as he parried an attack from a Codarl and struck it down with his shock batons. "OZ has clearly improved their weaponry since our last encounter."
"But they still go down all the same." Jazz flipped over two Codarls and used his vibro-blade to swiftly behead them, effectively disabling them. He ran to attack another Codarl when a long metal spear made from tank armor flew right at him. "Scrap!"
Jazz moved his body so that the spear impaled his arm instead of his chest, but stumbled when a second spear stabbed into his right leg. Ironhide, who was right next to him, looked to where the spears came from and saw a smirking Dreyas.
"You bastard!" Ironhide growled and pointed his cannons at the Karaba leader.
"Ironhide, wait!" Optimus tried to stop him, but was too late.
Ironhide fired his laser blast and hit Dreyas directly. For a moment, he thought he actually got the man, but his victory was taken away when the smoke cleared and revealed Dreyas to be completely unharmed. An invisible barrier of magnetic energy surrounded him, having protected him from the blast.
"My turn." Dreyas held out a hand and sent a wave of magnetic energy shooting at Ironhide. It slammed into him with tremendous force and sent him flying into the side of another hangar. "You should know better than to fight a man who can harness the entire planet as his weapon!"
Dreyas clapped his hands together and two Codarls flew at Prowl. Prowl dodged the flying talos easy enough, but then the robots were dismantled piece by piece and were sent shooting at him again. The Autobot was attacked from behind and hundreds of sharp metal fragments dug into his metal body. Dreyas then snagged Jazz in his magnetic grip and flung him into Bulkhead, throwing both mechs to the ground.
"Too easy." Dreyas smirked. A shadow fell over him from behind and he calmly looked back to see Optimus swinging his battle axe down on him.
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The hangar had been outfitted by OZ to act as a field base; everything was retrofitted to be easy to move at a moment's notice, with computers and cables lying everywhere. There were two talos standing guard at the doors. Gina could see the scientists and soldiers rushing to pack everything up while the titans were battling outside, but her eyes were on the giant metal cube glowing with energy.
"What is that?" Sara asked.
"A proto-cube. It's what the Minicons used to create protoforms." Gina said. "The Exodus had four of them, but we only got three cubes from the wreckage in Azteca. Aries must have managed to steal one when we weren't looking."
"Those bastards." Sureshock growled. "As if they haven't don't enough damage to us with Dualor's help before this!"
Gina looked around the hangar before spotting a large energon tank connected to the generator that was connected to the cube. Focusing hard on the fuel tank, Gina generated an energy sphere that blew up the tank, igniting the energon inside and creating a huge explosion that took out the generator too. Anyone nearby scattered and ran. Gina hopped down onto the ground and ran towards the computer that was still working.
"Data? No, that's code…so that's what they're doing. They're pumping energy into the cube and translating the genetic code coming from it into data!" Gina exclaimed.
"Those bastards!" Sureshock spat. "This is how they've been able to create their advanced tech. by copying cybertronian genetic code as a blueprint!"
"It's part of the reason, yes, but it was only a small part in our rise to glory."
The girls looked up to see Pisces standing atop one of the catwalks with his adamantium staff in hand. For once, he wasn't wearing his usual smile and was openly glaring down at them.
"I don't say this often," Pisces said darkly. "But I'm going to enjoy killing you."
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Prime's glowing red battle axe slammed down onto Dreyas's magnetic barrier with enough force to knock the man out of the air and into the ground. It was thanks to that barrier that Dreyas avoided any serious injuries, though it still hurt.
"Don't underestimate us." Optimus growled and advanced on Dreyas, who glared back at him.
"Underestimate you? Watch your words, machine!" Dreyas raised his hand and Optimus froze as he exerted his magnetic hold over him.
Dreyas has perfect control over his powers, able to control electromagnetic fields with ease and manipulate all sorts of metals, ferrous and non-ferrous, as a result. But trying to hold Optimus in place was more difficult than he thought it would be.
'Is it because he's made of living metal?' Dreyas thought. His muscles tensed as he tried to hold Optimus in place, but it was starting to put some strain on him. "Damn it!"
Optimus felt like he had the entire planet's gravity pressing down on him. He could feel the magnetic forces pressing down on his body, gripping his armor and trying to take control. But still he fought as hard as he could through brute force.
"Prowl…" Optimus grunted out, wincing from the pain in his joints. "I need…an assist…"
Prowl, though wounded, was still in the fight. He got to his feet and jumped over to one of the bisected Codarls, throwing it at Dreyas. Dreyas saw the incoming projectile and waved his hand to rip it to pieces, but his lapse in concentration allowed Prime to break free of his hold.
"Filthy aliens!" Dreyas snarled and sent a piece of shrapnel at Optimus. The jagged piece of metal buried itself into Optimus's shoulder and Dreyas turned to Prowl, slamming him into the dirt with an immense magnetic wave. "Know your place!"
Optimus swung his axe into the ground near Dreyas, throwing dust and rocks into his face. The esper terrorist had the foresight to take hold of a metal armor plate to protect himself as Optimus's axe tore it apart and nearly caught him by surprise. Dreyas leapt back to gain some breathing room.
"I have to admit, Prime, you are a treat to fight." Dreyas grinned. "You're actually challenge!"
"This isn't a game!" Optimus shouted.
"What's wrong with having fun with your work?" Dreyas released a magnetic pulse toward the hangar behind him. "Now let's see how good a player you really are!"
He tore apart the roof and doors of the hangar and shaped them into two large metal blades. Dreyas shot at Prime and attacked him with a barrage of fast strikes. Optimus parried them all, but he could barely get to Dreyas. He hissed when Dreyas sliced Open his upper right arm and jumped back to avoid another strike from behind.
"So you do bleed!" Dreyas cackled. "And here I thought you cybertronians were unstoppable."
"We never portrayed ourselves as such" Optimus said.
"No, but your human friends have no problem bragging about how big and strong you are. Thinking that Karaba will think twice about attacking them." Dreyas growled. "But your aliens are no different from us. If you can bleed…then you can die!"
Optimus grabbed one of the blades and snapped it over his knee before charging at Dreyas. He swung his axe down on the esper, but Dreyas grabbed a new shield to defend himself—Jazz! Optimus was unable to divert his attack and watched horrified as his axe smoothly severed Jazz's right arm.
"No, Jazz!"
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"That cube has contributed greatly to our cause. By transferring energy to it, we'd get back pulsewaves carrying information—cybertronian genetic code—which we could translate and engineer for our use. Discovering energon with Thornment's help only made the process more efficient."
"Humanity isn't ready for that information, let alone OZ!" Gina yelled.
"Maybe not, but as Aries has made clear to you before," Pisces leapt at the girls. "We Zodiac are more than human!"
Sara jumped over Gina and brought out her energy blades, clashing with Pisces in the air. She kicked him to the ground and attacked him with a barrage of fast attacks that put him on the defensive. Pisces gritted his teeth as each slash pushed him back towards the wall, though his staff remained unscathed despite the assault. Eventually he had enough of her attacks and fought back.
"Don't underestimate me!" He roared and spun around, bringing his staff in a vertical arc that Sara dodged. But he used the staff to propel himself at her and kicked her in the chest.
As they fought, Gina and Sureshock went over to the Cube. As much as she wanted to kill Pisces, Gina knew that she couldn't allow OZ to abuse the Cube any longer.
"The Cube reacts to energy, specifically electricity, to cause a reaction." Sureshock said. "It's how we manipulate the cybermatter that composes the cube to create protoforms."
"Is it possible to overload it somehow?" Gina asked. "Because I doubt we'll be able to push thing out by hand."
Pisces ducked under a slash from Sara and caught her punch, throwing her over his head and into a truck. Sara kicked off the vehicle and lunged at Pisces, who knocked her blades aside but took a hard kick to his fae that sent him crashing into a table.
"I'm getting tired of you, girl!" Pisces growled and stood up, wiping blood from his lip. That was when he spotted Gina and Sureshock tampering with the Cube. "No!"
Pisces ran for the Cube, but Sara slammed into him. They struggled against each other as they rolled along the ground, but Sara managed to kick his staff away before pinning him to the ground.
"Stop! Think about what you're doing, girl!" He yelled to Gina. "The information that cube can provide could help mankind for generations to come!"
"And yet you people only see fit to use it to create weapons. It'll be better to destroy it before you can abuse it any longer!" Gina glared at Pisces. "Consider this payback for all the pain you've caused to me and my friends!"
"NOOOOO!"
Gina's eyes glowed and she created a distortion field that released a powerful energy wave upon the cube. Gina pumped huge amounts of energy into the cube, and it slowly started to glow—first white, then a burning red. Not even an object as mutable as the cube could take in this much energy so fast.
Pisces kicked Sara off him and stumbled back, watching in dismay as his precious cube began to rapidly heat up from the energy overload. 'She's overloading its energy capacity with her distortion halo. That thing will become a bomb in a few minutes because of her. Damn you, Gina Harkins!'
"I can't save it now." Pisces muttered in despair and called his base. "Teleport myself and all surviving personnel immediately. We're done here!"
Pisces felt his body breaking apart as the MASS device began to teleport him away from the battle. His hate filled eyes never left Gina until he was gone from the building.
"Gina, we need to leave the area before the cube reaches critical mass." Sureshock said. "The explosion will take out this entire base and the surrounding area for about a mile!"
"It's too late to run!" Gina said. "Follow me!"
XXXXXX
Dreyas tossed aside the one-armed Jazz, whom Optimus caught and gently laid him on the ground.
"Now I know how Bucket-head feels." Jazz quipped.
"Hang in there, Jazz." Optimus told his friend.
Dreyas advanced on the two mechs, but Bulkhead, Prowl and Ironhide ran in front of him, making him scoff.
"It's not surprising that those pitiful soldiers couldn't do a damn thing against you." The air around Dreyas simmered as he prepared for a massive attack, calling upon the ambient electromagnetic energy in the atmosphere itself. "No matter, I'm more than enough to handle all of you!"
Before he could attack, a violet portal appeared behind him and Fauntleroy and Magda jumped out.
"Sir, we need to leave!" Fauntleroy said.
"What?" Dreyas snarled. "I'm not running from these interlopers!"
"Dreyas, the warehouse is about to explode. Something's happening inside and we're in its blast radius!" Magda shouted.
"What?!" Prowl exclaimed.
Dreyas glared at the Autobots. "This isn't over, Autobots." He vowed and followed his wife back into the portal, which closed behind them.
"Did she just say that warehouse is gonna explode?" Bulkhead asked.
Optimus looked at the warehouse and saw a bright glow coming from inside. "Autobots, retreat!"
The Autobots transformed and sped away from the base, with Jazz hanging onto Ironhide's trunk as he was literally dragged through the dirt. They made it as far as the entrance when the hangar exploded in a massive fireball. The display was so destructive and powerful that the average Hollywood action movie buff would have gushed at the dazzling scene it was. Blue flames shot up into the air and a shockwave emanated from the blast zone, wiping out the other hangars and the runway. The Autobots were blown off their wheels and sent tumbling several feet from the powerful shockwave before they came to a stop.
"Whoa, that was nuts!" Jazz grunted.
"What was all that?" Bulkhead asked. "A bomb?"
"No, Dreyas looked just as surprised as we were. It couldn't have been him." prowl said. "I suppose this was Pisces's doing. Either they had a bomb or they were suffering from some kind of…technical difficulties."
"So what caused it?" Ironhide questioned.
"Um…that might be us."
The Autobots looked down and saw a hole forming near their feet. Energy crackled along its edges before fading, and from it crawled Gina, Sara and Sureshock, covered in dust and looking exhausted.
"Gina?" Optimus blinked. "What are you doing here?"
"It's…a long story." Gina said sheepishly.
Prowl crossed his arms. "We're listening."
XXXXXX
Scorpio waited at the MASS teleportation platform for Pisces. He heard from one of his associates that negotiations with Karaba had fallen apart, and he was waiting eagerly to get on Pisces's case about it.
The machine activate with its usual flare, and Pisces rematerialized on the platform with dozens of weary looking talos pilots, which was significantly less than what he was deployed with earlier that night. Scorpio noticed that Pisces looked absolutely livid and hid a smile. Once the machine powered down, Pisces pushed the doors open and marched down the stairs. He didn't even acknowledge Scorpio's presence.
"I take it our alliance with Karaba didn't go as planned?"
Pisces's answer was a swift punch to Scorpio's jaw that sent him sprawling along the floor. Scorpio's mind took a minute to register the pain, but when he did, it hurt.
"What the hell is your problem?" Scorpio yelled, holding a hand to his aching jaw.
"I'm going to kill those brats." Pisces snarled. His breathing was haggard and his eyes were wide with rage. "I'm going to tear them apart!"
Scorpio got to his feet. "Pisces, think about—"
"No! Those children have been given too much freedom to interfere with us! I'll kill all three of them with my bare hands." Pisces roared. "Starting with Gina Harkins!"
Another fun chap to write. Not much else to add that hasn't already been said already. In the next chapter, the children get a taste of the growing divide between espers and humans while Pisces takes the fight to them...at their school! The next chapter will take some time to come considering I'm going to be updating my second mainstream story, Sofia the First: New Beginnings, with not one but TWO chapters! Feel free to check out the official Transformers Titan website on Wordpress, directions to the site on in my profile. Thanks for reading, stay safe, and please leave a review!